Reviews

Should Have Named This "The Overdose of Lishan Tragedy That Fails To Make Space For Anything Else"

Positive Points
1. The cast, especially Bai Lu & Cheng Lei, were just brilliant. Bai Lu probably gave the best performance of her career (at least in my opinion). Cheng Lei was great too, as he always is (though I felt his expressions were all the same in the 2nd half, I blame the writing). The cinematography felt smooth and natural. Though not overly artistic, the flow of the story felt natural. I liked that the editors chose not to overuse the filters so that it does not become distracting. The editing was consistent, though at the end of each episode, it felt like it ended abruptly. The OST was not that melodious, but it suited the vibe of the drama.
2. The female lead was written really well, and her being actually mentally ill gives it a fresh touch. The storytelling was so good for the first half. I love a smart FL always. Even if the drama might not be up to my liking, Bai Lu did not disappoint me with her character choice as always.
3. The action scenes were very limited and few, but the choreography was done exceptionally well, which felt engaging and entertaining. The parallel of the past and present in the action scenes was done brilliantly. That little duel with the flower branch between the 2 leads was a cherry on top.

Negative Points
1. What happened to Mo Xiu Yao’s character? Though the ML was made more realistic in the drama version, the main focus was that Mo Xiu Yao, though physically constrained to a wheelchair, was nowhere near considered weak. All the antagonists were afraid of him. He certainly was not someone who was at the mercy of the FL. Even in the drama version, his character was portrayed as a broken, worn-out, but a man who was strong and resilient at the start. I absolutely hate when ML/FL is suddenly made pitiful and weak deliberately to glorify the brilliance and compassion of the other lead (ML/FL). Drama Mo Xiu Yao was at his lowest point, and his struggles were relatable to me until he got healthy again. After that, his character felt more like he got sidelined to me. The divorce arc, though necessary, felt like it was done to make the FL pitiful. The ML behaved a bit out of character in my opinion (that arc I felt completely contradicts his character shown in the earlier part of the drama). A female-centric or male-centric, whatever drama it is, should not make the other ML/FL weak or make him/her suddenly do terrible out-of-character things just to make the viewers pity the main lead. Unless the story demands and a character is weak right from the start, I absolutely hate such deliberate foul play. Here in the Lishan track, Mo Xiu Yao felt too rational and calm to me in his actions. The FL here is all in all square and never needs the ML to do anything, even when she is almost executed in a false murder case. The writers promoted companionship, and although I felt it initially, it later felt missing. The only character that the writer wrote properly was the FL. The ML was written halfway, but probably the writer lost interest or forgot about him. The ML’s 2 most important problems in life were solved by the FL. The writers should have at least shown cooperation and scheming between the 2 leads for recovering that lost edict. That edict is more important to Mo Xiu Yao than Ye Li, honestly. Initially, though the dynamics between the leads were good, but later the writing suffered, and it became a cliché in my opinion. By the time I reached towards the recovery of the lost imperial edict, I felt the charm of the lead’s relationship was gone. I found their divorce arc and the rest of the plot poorly written. It started really well, but it was, as usual, like many other dramas lost the momentum and quality writing from the middle. I absolutely love female-centric dramas, but what I love more is complete storytelling where no matter which character was the main focus (Male-centric/Female-centric), all other characters, including the other ML/FL, minor characters, and antagonists, are properly written characters with depth, and they contribute something to the story instead of being written solely with purpose of complimenting or glorifying the ML/FL. They had cast an actor like Cheng Lei as the ML, but completely wasted his potential with shallow writing and failing to make his character add any value to the whole story. Due to the writing, he completely feels like a side character kept solely as the love interest of the FL without contributing anything substantial of his own to the story (screentime is not the issue for me).

2. The finale lacked the action and punch it needed to be considered as a finale (except for some parts of the last episode). This drama seriously lacked a proper antagonist. The main villains did not seem powerful, nor did they seem crazy enough to be considered antagonists. The antagonist Mo Jingli hardly feels like a villain. The Empress Dowager does not feel frightening to me either. I have seen enough dramas that have managed to build a proper antagonist with little screen time who has had enough impact on the overall story. This drama tried to focus more on the moral conscience of the antagonists instead of any proper action. Where did the FL suddenly came from in the middle of a palace coup? Moreover, why include the ML for 1 or 2 moves at the end of the battle scene of Mo Jingli with Ye Li. Either include the ML properly or don’t include him at all. How come, after that glorious defeat, Mo Jingli managed to enter the capital for a palace coup with enough soldiers? How was so many Eastern Palace supporters were spared for them to make a comeback? The military requires a lot of money. How come Mo Jingli, who was so pitiful that he deliberately pretended to be incompetent and foolish, managed to learn so many things? Where did he get the money, or manage to keep such a large army for his purpose, without the knowledge of the Empress Dowager? The politics, twists, and finale were absolutely sloppy. The entire story revolves around Ye Li’s mental illness and the tragedy of Lishan. My personal speculation is that they did not follow the novel at all due to a budget shortage. But if you did not have enough budget for writing a proper battle, climax, or politics to make the finale tense and impactful, then you should not have made this drama in the first place. The producers choose to pick out a novel with heavy warfare and politics, but fail to create any decent twists or politics that are worthy of the finale to save money. Absolutely disappointed.

3. I absolutely hated how the arc of the FL’s mental illness treatment was handled. Mental illness, no matter the reasons, is a serious issue. It does not vanish just like that. The Lishan track felt superficial to me due to such careless writing. It could have been treated better, and it’s not like the drama had a lot to focus on, as they had shamelessly misled the viewers about it being an adaptation of the original novel, while they took absolutely nothing from it except the names of the characters and Mo Xiu Yao’s white hair. Once Ye Li came to her senses and faced the truth of Lishan, her illness was cured just like that. The writers created such a melodramatic divorce arc and made the ML chase the FL to Lishan with white hairs but as soon as they came face to face, all the ML says is that “The past graviences has nothing to do with the FL” and baam the divorce issue gets completely forgotten by all. Even after her memory came back, they did not have a proper talk to sort it out.

4. Princess Ling Yun was shown as such an intelligent woman who absolutely did not trust her maid, Su Zui Die. How come she was suddenly killed by her like that? It felt absolutely odd. How come Mo Xiu Yao did not know anything about his wife being framed for murder? Mo Xiu Yao’s best friend and his family did not inform Mo Xiu Yao about his wife being in such serious trouble. The FL manages to get the supposed to be super intelligent but actually suddenly foolish ex-fiancé of her husband to publicly confess everything so that she can be captured (who plotted for years and murdered the super smart princess and framed another super-intelligent princess consort).

PS. It’s a request to the drama makers not to promote the dramas as an adaptation of a novel when they, for whatever reasons, won’t take anything from the novel except for the names. It’s completely misleading and highly disappointing to the novel readers who got hyped over nothing. This drama deviated so much from the novel that it should probably be called an original script instead of a novel adaptation.

PS. Though I did not want to mention the novel, if the Novel Mo Xiu Yao watched the action of the drama Mo Xiu Yao (especially towards Ye Li), he would have slapped him from dawn to dusk and might even chase him with a sword to kill him (Probability is 1000%).

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9/10 Sangmin Dinneaw

This is another Thai BL series which featuring a Korean actor. At first I was hesitant about watching it. Because of bad previous experiences with older series such as "Peach of Time" and "Love Is Like A Cat". Both series failed to successfully make a logical language connection. They're both forcing two languages without natural assimilation. The actors need to actually speak in the other languages to make an assimilation. Not just forcing to talk to the other person in their own language, but magically, the other person just understood them and then replying in their own mother language. That's what I call a language trainwreck.
In this series, the actors respectfully learned both languages and put them in use while communicating. Sang Min spoke in Thai while Petch spoke in Korean (a little) when they're speaking to each other. In the plot, Sangmin is a Korean boy who stayed in Thailand for quite a while. So it's not weird if we see him understand a lot of Thai words. That is much more acceptable than some translation device that you had to put on every time you need to speak to people who speaks other languages. That's one of the things I like about this series. The other is about the good chemistry between the main leads. As for the things that I don't like, it's the absurd amount of BL couples they shoved in this series without any connection to the plot. Arthit & Tor as a couple still makes sense since they're tied to the plot. But Riktor & Guy? And the two doctors at the hospital? Those couples were like shoved in the audience's face without any reason.
It's like they had a quota of couples in this series they had to achieve. That just made this series looked a little ridiculous.
Other than that, this series is decent and good to watch.
Even though there's so many unnecessary NC scenes which are insignificant to the plot.

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Missing the Chemistry

I’ve been a huge fan of Lee Jae Wook since Alchemy of Souls and try to follow all his projects, but I just can't seem to find that spark anymore. Unfortunately, this drama was another disappointment for me. First of all, the romance felt forced, and there was almost zero chemistry between the leads.
While the first two episodes managed to hook me, the show quickly devolved into classic K-drama clichés: recycled traumas, endlessly gossiping/nosy villagers, and that unbearable love triangle. No one asked for that.
Honestly, the second couple's story and chemistry were way more engaging and fun. At least I could feel a genuine spark between them!

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Some Stories Never Leave You!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved Bad Buddy so much, and I know it'll always be my comfort show. Even after all these years, I still find myself going back to it whenever I miss Ohm and Nanon. Their chemistry was something truly special—so natural, effortless, and unforgettable that it made every scene feel real.

The show is fun, heartwarming, and endlessly rewatchable. I still listen to the OSTs regularly, and every time they come on, they bring back all the feelings I had when I first watched the series. And of course, the rooftop kiss remains one of the best and most iconic kiss scenes in BL history. Five years later, Bad Buddy still has a place in my heart, and I don't think that's ever going to change.

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a journey through the world of ink

‎finished 8.5/10 ⭐
‎I liked the drama, especially considering it's a story focused on the making and creation of the ink... yangzi is a wonderful actress and I want to see more dramas from her in the future, The rest of the cast also did an excellent job... if I had any criticisms, it's that the last 10 episodes felt like filler and some scenes bored me... the villains It took them a long time to get their justice, and I felt it wasn't enough. Plus, the main characters were only truly happy in the last five minutes of the drama... But anyway, I enjoyed it and recommend it 🥰
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Big bad wolf and his damsel in distress

YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI6dCriKkjM96prEY5v2Nhtu

GMMTV's Twilight-Wannabe. Not as bad as some people make it out to be, but not good either. An alright one-time watch that is only enjoyable if you turn off your brain.

Things I liked:
1. Cute moments.
2. Tonkla. Nice and supportive friend.
3. Insane chemistry.
4. Plot twist. Genuinely made this series much better in my opinion.

Things I disliked:
1. Special effects.
2. Main character acting like a child for the majority of the series.
3. The fact that Mark was looking after the main character since he was just a baby feels extremely predatory.
4. A LOT of inconsistencies throughout the series. For example, vampires are supposed to be way stronger and faster than humans, yet on multiple occasions Tong overpowers them.
5. No explanation for anything. To put it bluntly, the whole plot doesn't make any sense.
* You want to know more about vampires?
Too bad, enjoy a two-minute explanation that makes absolutely no sense.
* Want to know more about the golden blood, its lore, and where it's originating from?
Well, good luck with that one since nobody is explaining it to you.
The whole writing is pure nonsense!
It really wouldn't take that much to spend an extra few days or even hours to develop a more interesting and meaningful story that actually makes sense.
6. Nakan's death was so unnecessary, like let's be real.

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The New Peak of GMMTV!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WU is hands down the best GMMTV series ever made. Every aspect of this show is exceptional. The acting is on another level, and Sky and Nani's chemistry is absolutely electric. The OSTs are incredible, the cinematography is stunning, and so many scenes will leave you with goosebumps.

The cast is stacked with talented actors, and every one of them delivers. What I love most is the vibe—it reminds me of the best Chinese bromance dramas, the kind of stories I can never get enough of.

I already thought High School Frenemy was peak, but WU somehow managed to surpass it. This world has so much more to offer, and it deserves a Season 2. I genuinely don't want this story to end.

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Ending hints Soo-ho + Yeo-joo will be a couple. Yeo-joo takes it slow. Want season 2

The ending strongly hints that Yeo-joo and Soo-ho will eventually be together.
Yeo-joo isn't necessarily playing hard to get; she's just cautious and wants to take things slowly. Soo-ho seems to understand that, which is why he smiles—he realizes she isn't rejecting him, and he's willing to keep pursuing her at her pace.
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The smile from Soo-ho at the end can definitely be read as:
- He realizes Yeo-joo isn't rejecting him.
- He understands that she's the type of person who won't rush into a relationship.
- He's willing to keep pursuing her because he now believes there's hope.

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Could be better!

I have to admit this drama had been on my list for years because of Deng Wei. But I also like the whole casts in general, and seeing them altogether is such a pleasure. I'm super happy to watch this one after it was shelved for three long years. Even after watching and I do have disappointments, I am grateful that we are able to watch it finally. And I am now relieved it is over. I will still recommend it to those who like the cast, not mind old school feel unserious drama.
The good thing is that I do like Deng Wei's character Zheng Shi&Lou Qi Yan a lot. It is just precious to see Deng Wei in this vibe, the cunning man who is morally gray although he had people he genuinely care that is his grandfather and Fan Yun. Moreover, him being a merchant is a bonus charisma. I am really glad to him together act with venteran actor who played his grandfather. Their scenes are my favorite in this drama, although they are brief the emotions were played out so well that made me impressed. (as well as the whole Zheng clan in Jing City arc in few last episodes is the most enjoyable for me), And maybe because I am a little bias, I am actually a little sad that he was loser in love here. Besides I also wished to be more convinced why he fell in love with her aside from he was fond of her playing erhu. And oh that ending tragedy of his doesn't make sense and after all this is a lighter tone drama, they should not cut the ending scene of him coming back at all. This is one of main reasons why I cut score from my rating.
(I'd love to see Deng Wei take more more projects as ML in upcoming days).
P.S I am very delighted with Liu Yuning song being played at his last scene. This song is truely for Zheng Shi.

I just finished Mysterious Lotus Case book not so long ago, and generally very fond of Joseph Zeng there. I like his acting in general. But I will blame the character writing here. That is absolutely feel like something is lacking. Joseph could bring out Qi Zheng, the character to a fun young emperor who looks idiot but is actually smart. I actually do appreciate on Fan Yun(female lead) and inspired to do as her. However the drama fail to convince me about his wholly being smart with him folllwing and stalking female lead to a ton. (I don't mind this in some other dramas but in this one it is unnecessary and feels more annoying than touching.) Moreover, they also make him jealous in such petty way throughout to the ending episode that didn't even stop when the other person was dead alread. And yeo the likely promisng of his back story seems cut outecd. This is another main reason I do cut some scores.

As for Fan Yun, I have less connection with her. I should be cheering her in her journey to being female official, that brings equality to woman in Rosy Cloud. I couldn't go in details for now why I think I am doubtful of sometimes as a smart woman. Besides while she thought about reforming on people and gender equality, why couldn't she open up her heart to someone who support her. And she looked so " icy cold" towards romance that it is so difficult cheer the main couple in the series or let say I do not see development as much as I want to see. And this is another one of three main reasons why I cut some scores out. Li Yitong is beautiful and cute, especially in A Dream Within A Dream back then. If her upcoming dramas are interesting I would like to try too.

All in all the main plotline is actually strong, the drama tells it in an a little unengaging way with choppy editing and some plot random plot that got loss such more scene for Male Lead background story, the random brief appearing of Tian Xi sister, and the whole scene of main cp sticking in burning house and he kissed and made her play erhu is rather ridiculous than romantic,.etc

Other than that I quite enjoy many support scenes such as 2nd CP scene in which she chased him and he finally give in. I like Riley and DaiLuWa chemistry. They need a good drama together as main cp. I adore the the elders who look after Qi Zheng. The man in mask I think is charismatic. The two main subordinates of Qi Zheng are fun , especially Tian Ji Rui character who lack sense of direction. And the Wei bro who play flute in lead life in his way. I think i want to see more of these character. I'd say apart my bias Zheng Shi, they are (their acting) main reasons why it is mostly enjoyable.

Okay..I will finish my review for now. This drama has excellent casting from main to support but choppy in storytelling. The production on cinematography is generally fine for me but it is bit old school and low budget. The costume are beautiful and the songs are nice. Nonetheless I feel this story of a inspiring woman who fight for human rights and woman rights is not touching enough. It actually failure for me as a love story. But i do have certain that keep me till the end and that I enjoy of. So overall I will rate it 7.5/10.
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My previous review
**
I am now half way through The Legend of Rosy Clouds. It was such a long waited drama. I believe many of us come to watch this show because we like the casts. We had been waiting for this to come out for three years. Despite all the low ratings, once this one meets the right audience, it's going to be a worthy watch and absolutely entertaining.

This drama is old school. Visually, it would mostly remind us of those older dramas before 2020s. There are certain themes that might be turn of to modern audience such reverse heram, male leads stalking and chasing and courting female lead who is hard to get, because she has other proirity. These theme are more common back then even though nowadays we have them too, they are more subtle. For me who used to watch these types before , I am very fine with these stuffs in TV dramas.

Our female lead, Fan Yun was a teacher and born not so rich. She had this compassion towards people equality. She wants to promote gender equlity in which she wants to become official at government office to inspire others. She was successful in persuading the governor, our male lead establishing commoners being able to take exam to became government official. Its obvious, our male lead fell in love with her and willing support her ideas and policy change in 9 cities he governing. There is also a second male lead who did fall for Fan Yun after hearing her music. The man who hold two identities. One noble, and another ruthless merchant. This is a love triangle indeed, that one needs to lose.

Apart from our three main characters, we also get the second couple which is very refreshing. That is Gao Ran and Wei Shi San, in which she did chase him throughout. And when she had to stop. He missed her. This second cp is super cute. Riley Wang and Dai Lu Wa chemistry is superb.

So far this drama doesn't really have evil hateful villain so far. All the characters have their own point of view in life. Changing policy sometimes tak e times. And sometimes people wont want to change when their lives are seen as good already.

The acting from the whole cast is majestic. But i do have to admit this drama suffer bad edits and cuts that can turn off some audiences too. However, the main plotline is still understandable which is why I won't ever say this is a bad drama.

The drama is light and comedy even with some politics and some of point of views to think about if you catch it. But not in a very serious way. And all the characters had their funny side. I normally like easy going drama and I like casts here so this drama is just for me. Im very happy we can watch it after all the issues in three years. I recommend it to anyone who likes the casts, likes comedie, noting minding being old school. Just try it.

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10/10 Excellent BL drama

10/10 Excellent BL drama
Please ignore the hate comments-this show is a hidden gem. It's short, super cute, and incredibly calming. There's no drama, no unnecessary tension-just wholesome fluff and heartwarming moments. The visuals are soft and aesthetically pleasing, with a gentle color palette that adds to the relaxing vibe. The characters are lovable and well-designed, making it easy to get attached to them. It's the perfect show to unwind with after a long day. You'll feel genuinely happy and comforted after watching it. If you're in the mood for something light, sweet, and uplifting, definitely give this one a try!

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